US10789642B2 - Family accounts for an online content storage sharing service - Google Patents

Abstract

A computing device provides methods and workflow for setting up a shared family account on a content storage system, including the creation of accounts for child family members. A computing device supports the creation of a family account using an account on the content storage system associated with an adult family member acting as a family organizer. The family organizer can designate a specific account as a purchase account for allowing other family member to purchase content from content servers associated with the content storage system. The family organizer can invite other adult family members to join the shared family account. The family organizer can create new accounts on the content storage system for child family members, and can designate access and purchase restrictions for such child family members. Family members have access to shared storage content, as well as services such as family calendar, group messaging, and device location.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/005,621 filed on May 30, 2014, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Technology

The embodiments herein generally relate to online content storage systems that enable sharing of content between user accounts, and in particular to accounts shared among family members.

2. Background

Some online (or more colloquially, “cloud”) based content storage systems enable users to share content between multiple devices and multiple different users. Typically, each user must have their own account with the content storage system, whereby they then designate particular folders or files to be shared with other users.

Some content storage systems do not allow children (typically under the age of thirteen, but may vary depending on jurisdiction) to establish accounts due to legal concerns. However, many families would like to be able to allow their children to be able to share content with other family members. Not all online content storage systems allow for family accounts that include child accounts, and among those that do, establishing an account for a child can be complex and time consuming.

Content storage systems are sometimes associated with online digital stores where users can purchase digital content, such as music, video, electronic books, and computer applications. For content storage systems of this type, child family members typically have the ability to purchase digital content subject only to content rating restrictions, without direct supervision or approval by other family members. These content storage systems do not provide easy to administrator facilities for controlling the kinds of content that child family members can purchase.

SUMMARY

An online content storage system enables a user to create a family account to be shared by a number of family members, including child family members. In one aspect, an adult family member having an account on the content storage system can initiate processes to set up a shared family account on the content storage system. The adult family member, acting an family organizer can select an account to be used as the shared family account, select an account to use as a purchase account to allow purchases to be made by other family members, invite other family members to join the shared family account, and to create a new account for child family members in an efficient and flexible manner.

In creating a new account for a child family member, the family organizer can use credit card related information, such as a credit card verification code to authenticate to the content storage system that the family organizer is setting up the account, rather than the child family member. The family organizer can also select particular content servers to which the child family member can have access. The family organizer can designate a real time purchase approval process be associated with the account of the child family member so that future purchases of content from the content servers by the child family member must be approved in real time by an adult family member prior to the purchase being approve and the content downloaded to the child family member's computing device. The family organizer can further select particular content restrictions based on country and media type to be applied to the child family member's account. Different content restriction templates can be provided by the content storage system for different countries and age ranges; the system can automatically select and periodically update the content restriction template applied to the child family member's account based on the age and country location.

Upon acceptance of an invitation to join a shared family account, an adult family member automatically obtains access to the shared family account, as well as designated content servers for obtaining content, and various services, such as a family group messaging service, a family calendar service, and device location service by which the computing devices of other family members may be easily located and shown on a map or caused to output an audio sound for locating.

Accordingly, in one aspect a method comprises, at an electronic device with a display, displaying a first screen to initiate setup of a family account at an online content storage system that is to be shared between family members. The electronic device receives an input on the first screen initiating setup of the online content storage account, and displays an identifier of a family account organizer and an indication of a source account with the online content storage system. The electronic device then displays at least one account to be selected as a purchase account for the family account, wherein purchases of content items by any family member having access to the family account are stored on the online content storage system in association with the family account, and can be accessed by any other family member having access to the family account. The electronic device receives an input selecting an account as the purchase account, and then displays credit card information associated with the purchase account. The electronic device receives an input confirming the credit card information, and sends to the online content storage system an indication to associate the credit card number for the purchase account with the family account. The device then displays a list of family members having access to the family account, along with an indication of the credit card number associated with the family account, and a first user interface element to add a family member to the family account.

In another aspect, the method includes the electronic device receives a selection of the user interface element to create an account identifier for a child family member, and then displays an input field for receiving a credit card verification number for a credit card number associated with the family account. Where electronic device receives an input that matches an actual credit card verification number of the credit card number associated with the account, and proceeds with the creation of an account identifier for the child family member by displaying input fields for receiving identification information for the child family member. If the electronic device receives an input that does not match the actual card verification number of the credit card number associated with the account, it terminates the creation of an account identifier for the child family member, and displays a list of family members having access to the family account, wherein the list of family members does not include the family child member.

In another aspect, the method includes the electronic device displaying a control for receiving an input selectively enabling the online content storage system to transmit to an adult family member associated with the family account, prior to a purchase of content by the added family member, a message indicating the content being to be purchased by the added family member and indicating that the adult family member has an option to approve the purchase prior to the purchase being processed and the content downloaded to a computing device of the added family member.

In another aspect the method includes the electronic device displaying an indication that the added family member is automatically associated with a shared family calendar service associated with the family account, or displaying an indication that the added family member is automatically associated with a group messaging service associated with the family account, or displaying an indication that the added family member is automatically associated with a device location service associated with the family account.

In another aspect the method includes the electronic device displaying an input field for receiving an identifier of the family member to be added to a family account at an online content storage system that is shared between family members, and receiving the identifier of the family member to be added to the family account. The electronic device determines an age of the family member to be added to the family account. Responsive to the age of the family member being less than a predetermined age limit, the electronic device selects one of a plurality of content access and purchase restriction templates to be associated with the family member, and displays an indication of the selected content access and purchase restriction template. The selected content access and purchase restriction template is applied the account of the added family member.

A real time purchase approval process enables an adult family member to approve a purchase of content being made by a child family member from a content server accessible to the child family member. In this aspect, a content storage system (and associated content servers) receives from the computing device of the child family member, a selection of content item to be purchased by the child family member. The content storage system determines from the account of the child family member whether a real time approval process is required. If so, the content storage system notifies, via the computing device, that approval of an adult family member is required prior to the purchase, and providing options for the child family member to request approval of the purchase or decline. If the child family member requests approval of the purchase, then in one embodiment the content storage system transmits to a computing device of at least one adult family member a message informing the adult family member that their approval is required for the child family member to purchase the content and providing options for the adult family member to review the request or defer the request until a later time. If the adult family member defers the request, the content storage system sets a timer and repeats the approval request at a later time. If the adult family member reviews the request, the content storage system provides an indication of the content being purchased, and options to either accept or decline the purchase. If the adult family member declines the purchase, then the purchase is terminated and the content is not made available to the child family member. If the adult family member approves the purchase, then content storage system proceeds to process the transaction and download the content to the child family member's computing device. In one embodiment, the child family member's computing device displays a message providing the child family member options for having an adult family member approve the purchase request in person. If the child family member selects the option to have an adult family member approve in person, then the computing device displays a screen into which the adult family member can enter their account password, or other authentication information (e.g., credit card verification code). Once the adult family member is authenticated then the purchase is processed and the content is downloaded to the child family member's computing device.

In one aspect, a method comprises at a content storage system associated with a one content server from which content can be purchased, storing a family account at the content storage system, the family account having at least one adult family member and at least one child family member, the family account associated with a purchase account. The content storage system receives from a computing device of a child family member a request to purchase a content item from the content server associated with the content storage system. The content storage system determines from family account whether the purchase requires a real time approval by an adult family member associated with the family account. In response to determining that the purchase requires a real time approval, and prior to processing the purchase and downloading the content item to the computing device of the child family member, the content storage system transmits to a computing device of the at least one adult family member a message indicating that approval of the purchase by the child family member is required. In response to receiving an approval message from the computing device of the adult family member, the content storage system processes the purchase transaction using the purchase account, and transmits the purchased content item to the computing device of the child family member. In response to receiving an a decline message from the computing device of the adult family member, the content storage system terminate the purchase.

Note that the various embodiments of the family sharing account described above can be combined with any other embodiments described herein. The features and advantages described in the specification are not all inclusive and, in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a high level block diagram of an exemplary environment for a content storage system.

FIG. 1B is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary computing device.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of exemplary components for event handling.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating various sequences of operations for setting up a family account in the content storage system.

FIGS. 3.1 to 3.22 are illustrations of exemplary user interface screens displayed on a computing device in conjunction with the family account management operations described with respect toFIG. 2.

FIGS. 4.1 and 4.2 are illustrations of exemplary user interface screen displayed on a computing device in conjunction with operations for locating a user's computing device.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a screen for configuring a purchase approval process.

FIGS. 6A-6B are a sequence diagram illustrating the operations for the real-time purchase approval process.

FIGS. 7.1-7.10 are illustrations of exemplary user interface screens displayed on a computing device in conjunction with the operations described with respect toFIGS. 6A-6B for a real-time purchase approval process.

The figures depict, and the detail description describes, various non-limiting embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview of System Architecture

An online content storage system enables users to set up family accounts that include accounts accessible by children of the family.FIG. 1A is a high level block diagram of an exemplary environment for such an onlinecontent storage system200. The environment includesmultiple computing devices100, as would be used by a user to access thesharing system200. For purposes of illustration, as will become apparent further below, there are shown three representativeelectronic computing devices100A,100B, and100C, each associated with a family member; when referring to the computing devices in general,reference100 will be used. The environment further includes acontent storage server201, amedia server202, an application (“apps”)server204, an electronic book (“e-book”)server206, auser account server208, apurchase server210, adownload server212, afamily calendar server214, agroup messaging server216, and adevice location server218. These various systems and servers are communicatively coupled to thecomputing devices100 vianetwork220.

Thecontent storage server201 enables users to upload, search, browse and share content with others, including but not limited to other family members. Content handled by thecontent storage server201 includes any type of files, including documents, presentations, computer data, spreadsheets, images, movies, music, applications, and so forth. Embodiments of a content storage server suitable use as thecontent storage server201 are disclosed in US20130311597 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Themedia server202 provides an online, digital media store through which users ofcomputing devices100 to search, browse and obtain various types of media, including music, videos, movies, and television programs. Theapps server204 provides an online, digital media store through which user to search, browse and obtain executable computer applications and computer data for theircomputing device100. Thee-book server206 provides an online, digital media store through which users to search, browse and obtain electronic books, magazines, journals for reading on theircomputing devices100. Embodiments of various servers suitable for use as themedia server202,app server204, and e-book server are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,895,661 and 7,899,714 which are incorporated by reference in their entirety, herein. Any of the foregoing types of digital content can be free, rented, trial, or purchased. In one embodiment, the transactions are from these various servers are handled by thepurchase server210, and the subsequent downloading of content is handled by thedownload server212.

Thefamily calendar server214 provides support for hosted calendars that can be shared among family members. Embodiments of a calendar server suitable for use as thefamily calendar server214 are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,822,713 and 7,814,055, which are incorporated by reference in their entirety, herein.

Thegroup messaging server216 provides a platform for instant messaging between users, and in the embodiments described here, is beneficially used to provide instant messaging services between family members associated with a family account. Embodiments of a messaging server suitable for use as thegroup messaging server216 are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,468,580, 8,352,873, 8,554,861, 8,020,105 and US20110055735, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, herein.

User accountsserver208 stores information regarding user profile data (e.g., name, address, account ID, birthdate, access preferences and restrictions) and transactional information (e.g., purchase history, search history, etc.) for each user. Theaccounts server208 handles updating of user account information, as well as verification and authentication of user credentials such as user name, user email address, user passwords.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of acomputing device100. Thecomputing device100 includes a memory102 (which may include one or more computer readable storage mediums), amemory controller122, and one or more processing units (CPU's)120, aperipherals interface118. Thedevice100 may further includeRF circuitry108,audio circuitry110, aspeaker111, amicrophone113, an input/output (I/O)subsystem106, other input orcontrol devices116, and anexternal port124. Thecomputing device100 may include one or moreoptical sensors164. These components communicate over one or more communication buses orsignal lines103. Thedevice100 includes display, which can be a touch-sensitive display system112 according to one embodiment. The touch-sensitive display system112 is referred to herein as a “touch screen” for convenience, and may also be known as or called a touch-sensitive display system.

Thecomputing device100 shown inFIG. 1B is only one example of a portable multifunction device, and thecomputing device100 may have more or fewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or a may have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. The various components shown inFIG. 1A may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of both hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits.

Memory102 may include high-speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Access tomemory102 by other components of thedevice100, such as theCPU120 and theperipherals interface118, may be controlled by thememory controller122.

The peripherals interface118 couples the input and output peripherals of the device to theCPU120 andmemory102. The one ormore processors120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored inmemory102 to perform various functions for thedevice100 and to process data.

In some embodiments, theperipherals interface118, theCPU120, and thememory controller122 may be implemented on a single chip, such as achip104. In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips.

The RF (radio frequency)circuitry108 receives and sends RF signals, also called electromagnetic signals. TheRF circuitry108 converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals. TheRF circuitry108 may include well-known circuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. TheRF circuitry108 may communicate with networks, such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for email (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), and/or Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS)), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document.

Theaudio circuitry110, thespeaker111, and themicrophone113 provide an audio interface between a user and thedevice100. Theaudio circuitry110 receives audio data from theperipherals interface118, converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to thespeaker111. Thespeaker111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves. Theaudio circuitry110 also receives electrical signals converted by themicrophone113 from sound waves. Theaudio circuitry110 converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to the peripherals interface118 for processing. Audio data may be retrieved from and/or transmitted tomemory102 and/or theRF circuitry108 by theperipherals interface118. In some embodiments, theaudio circuitry110 also includes a headset jack (e.g.212,FIG. 2). The headset jack provides an interface between theaudio circuitry110 and removable audio input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., a microphone).

The I/O subsystem106 couples input/output peripherals on thedevice100, such as thetouch screen112 and other input/control devices116, to theperipherals interface118. The I/O subsystem106 may include adisplay controller156 and one ormore input controllers160 for other input or control devices. The one ormore input controllers160 receive/send electrical signals from/to other input orcontrol devices116. The other input/control devices116 may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s)160 may be coupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons may include an up/down button for volume control of thespeaker111 and/or themicrophone113. The one or more buttons may include a push button. A quick press of the push button may disengage a lock of thetouch screen112 or begin a process that uses gestures on the touch screen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated by reference. A longer press of the push button may turn power to thedevice100 on or off. The user may be able to customize a functionality of one or more of the buttons. Thetouch screen112 is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

The touch-sensitive touch screen112 provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and a user. Thedisplay controller156 receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to thetouch screen112. Thetouch screen112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output may include graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output may correspond to user-interface objects, further details of which are described below.

Atouch screen112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact. Thetouch screen112 and the display controller156 (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory102) detect contact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on thetouch screen112 and converts the detected contact into interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) that are displayed on the touch screen. In an exemplary embodiment, a point of contact between atouch screen112 and the user corresponds to a finger of the user.

Thetouch screen112 may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, or LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. Thetouch screen112 and thedisplay controller156 may detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with atouch screen112.

Thedisplay controller156 determine movement of contact based on speed, velocity, pressure, and/or an acceleration of the contact point, and tracks the movement across thetouch screen112. Thedisplay controller156 determines if the contact has stopped such as the detection of a finger-up event or a break in contact with thetouch screen112. These operations may be applied to a single contact (e.g., one finger touch) or to multiple simultaneous contacts.

Thedisplay controller156 detects a gesture input by a user on thecomputing device100. Different gestures have different touch patterns. A touch pattern is characterized by one or more contact points and their associated movements, from which the spatial or geometrical relationships between the contact points can be determined. Thedisplay controller156 detects a gesture based on a particular touch pattern on the display screen. For example, thedisplay controller156 detects a finger tap gesture by detecting a finger-down event indicating an initial contact of a position on thetouch screen112 followed by detecting a finger-up event at substantially the same position where the finger is no longer touching the touch screen. In another example, thedisplay controller156 detects a finger swipe gesture on the touch screen based on detecting a finger-down event (appearance of a contact point) followed by detecting one or more finger-dragging events where the user drags his or her finger from the position associated with the finger-down event to another position on the touch screen112 (movement of a contact point), and subsequently followed by a finger-up event (disappearance of the contact point).

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of thetouch screen112 may be analogous to the multi-touch sensitive tablets described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,323,846, 6,570,557, and US20020015024, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety. However, atouch screen112 displays visual output from theportable device100, whereas touch sensitive tablets do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of thetouch screen112 may be as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,279,180, 7,663,607, 20060026521 U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,239,784, 7,614,008, 7,844,914, US20060033724, and US20060197753, each of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety, herein.

The user may make contact with thetouch screen112 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which are much less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translates the rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to thetouch screen112, thecomputing device100 may include a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from thetouch screen112 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

In some embodiments, thecomputing device100 may include a physical or virtual click wheel as aninput control device116. A user may navigate among and interact with one or more graphical objects (henceforth referred to as icons) displayed in thetouch screen112 by rotating the click wheel or by moving a point of contact with the click wheel (e.g., where the amount of movement of the point of contact is measured by its angular displacement with respect to a center point of the click wheel). The click wheel may also be used to select one or more of the displayed icons. For example, the user may press down on at least a portion of the click wheel or an associated button. User commands and navigation commands provided by the user via the click wheel may be processed by aninput controller160 as well as one or more of the modules and/or sets of instructions inmemory102. For a virtual click wheel, the click wheel and click wheel controller may be part of thetouch screen112 and thedisplay controller156, respectively. For a virtual click wheel, the click wheel may be either an opaque or semitransparent object that appears and disappears on the touch screen display in response to user interaction with the device. In some embodiments, a virtual click wheel is displayed on the touch screen of a portable multifunction device and operated by user contact with the touch screen.

Thecomputing device100 also includes apower system162 for powering the various components. Thepower system162 may include a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Thecomputing device100 may also include one or moreoptical sensors164.FIG. 1B shows an optical sensor coupled to anoptical sensor controller158 in I/O subsystem106. Theoptical sensor164 may include charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors. Theoptical sensor164 receives light from the environment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the light to data representing an image. In conjunction with an imaging module143 (also called a camera module), theoptical sensor164 may capture still images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the back of thecomputing device100, opposite thetouch screen112 on the front of the device, so that the touch screen display may be used as a viewfinder for either still and/or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the user's image may be obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conference participants on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, the position of theoptical sensor164 can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing) so that a singleoptical sensor164 may be used along with the touch screen display for both video conferencing and still and/or video image acquisition.

Thecomputing device100 may also include one ormore proximity sensors166.FIG. 1A shows aproximity sensor166 coupled to theperipherals interface118. Alternately, theproximity sensor166 may be coupled to aninput controller160 in the I/O subsystem106. Theproximity sensor166 may perform as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,653,883, 8,381,135, 7,957,762, 7,633,076, and 8,006,002, each of which are incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns off and disables thetouch screen112 when the multifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call). In some embodiments, the proximity sensor keeps the screen off when the device is in the user's pocket, purse, or other dark area to prevent unnecessary battery drainage when the device is a locked state.

Thecomputing device100 may also include one ormore accelerometers168.FIG. 1B shows anaccelerometer168 coupled to theperipherals interface118. Alternately, theaccelerometer168 may be coupled to aninput controller160 in the I/O subsystem106. Theaccelerometer168 may perform as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,218,226 and 7,688,306, each of which are incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety. In some embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers.

In some embodiments, the software components stored inmemory102 may include anoperating system126, a communication module (or set of instructions)128, a contact/motion module (or set of instructions)130, a graphics module (or set of instructions)132, a text input module (or set of instructions)134, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set of instructions)135, and applications (or set of instructions)136.

The operating system126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components.

Thecommunication module128 facilitates communication with other devices over one or moreexternal ports124 and also includes various software components for handling data received by theRF circuitry108 and/or theexternal port124. The external port124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the 30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.) devices.

The contact/motion module130 may detect contact with the touch screen112 (in conjunction with the display controller156) and other touch sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). The contact/motion module130 includes various software components for performing various operations related to detection of contact, such as determining if contact has occurred, determining if there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across thetouch screen112, and determining if the contact has been broken (i.e., if the contact has ceased). Determining movement of the point of contact may include determining speed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point of contact. These operations may be applied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g., “multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments, the contact/motion module130 and thedisplay controller156 also detects contact on a touchpad. In some embodiments, the contact/motion module130 and thecontroller160 detects contact on a click wheel.

Thegraphics module132 includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on thetouch screen112, including components for changing the intensity of graphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations and the like.

Thetext input module134, which may be a component ofgraphics module132, provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g.,contacts137,e-mail140,IM141, blogging142,browser147, and any other application that needs text input).

TheGPS module135 determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone138 for use in location-based dialing, tocamera143 and/orblogger142 as picture/video metadata, and to applications that provide location-based services such as weather widgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Theapplications136 may include the following modules (or sets of instructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

• • a contacts module137 (sometimes called an address book or contact list);
  • atelephone module138;
  • avideo conferencing module139;
  • ane-mail client module140;
  • an instant messaging (IM)module141;
  • ablogging module142;
  • acamera module143 for still and/or video images;
  • animage management module144;
  • avideo player module145;
  • amusic player module146;
  • abrowser module147;
  • acalendar module148;
  • widget modules149, which may include weather widget149-1, stocks widget149-2, calculator widget149-3, alarm clock widget149-4, dictionary widget149-5, and other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets149-6;
  • electronicbook reader module150
  • search module151;
  • familyaccount management module152,

Examples ofother applications136 that may be stored inmemory102 include a video chat application, a messaging application, other word processing applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice replication.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to a set of instructions for performing one or more functions described above. These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. For example,video player module145 may be combined withmusic player module146 into a single module. In some embodiments,memory102 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore,memory102 may store additional modules and data structures not described above.

In some embodiments, thecomputing device100 is a device where operation of a predefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusively through atouch screen112 and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/or a touchpad as the primary input/control device for operation of thecomputing device100, the number of physical input/control devices (such as push buttons, dials, and the like) on thedevice100 may be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad include navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user, navigates thecomputing device100 to a main, home, or root menu from any user interface that may be displayed on thedevice100. In such embodiments, the touchpad may be referred to as a “menu button.” In some other embodiments, the menu button may be a physical push button or other physical input/control device instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event handling in accordance with one embodiment. In one embodiment, memory102 (inFIG. 1A) includes event sorter170 (e.g., in operating system126),operating system126, one or more applications (e.g.,136-1 and136-2, which can be any of the aforementioned applications137-151,155,380-390).

Event sorter170 receives event information and determines the application136-1 andapplication view191 of application136-1 to which to deliver the event information.Event sorter170 includes event monitor171 andevent dispatcher module174. In some embodiments, application136-1 includes applicationinternal state192, which indicates the current application view(s) displayed on touchsensitive display112 when the application is active or executing. In some embodiments, device/global internal state157 is used byevent sorter170 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, and applicationinternal state192 is used byevent sorter170 to determineapplication views191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, applicationinternal state192 includes additional information, such as one or more of: resume information to be used when application136-1 resumes execution, user interface state information that indicates information being displayed or that is ready for display by application136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back to a prior state or view of application136-1, and a redo/undo queue of previous actions taken by the user.

Event monitor171 receives event information fromperipherals interface118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., a user touch on touch-sensitive display112, as part of a multi-touch gesture). Peripherals interface118 transmits information it receives from I/O subsystem106 or a sensor, such asproximity sensor166, accelerometer(s)168, and/or microphone113 (through audio circuitry110). Information that peripherals interface118 receives from I/O subsystem106 includes information from touch-sensitive display112 or a touch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor171 sends requests to the peripherals interface118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripherals interface118 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripheral interface118 transmits event information only when there is a significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predetermined noise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments,event sorter170 also includes a hitview determination module172 and/or an active eventrecognizer determination module173.

Hitview determination module172 provides software procedures for determining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more views, when touchsensitive display112 displays more than one view. Views are made up of controls and other elements that a user can see on the display.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is a set of views, sometimes herein called application views or user interface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-based gestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) in which a touch is detected may correspond to programmatic levels within a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example, the lowest level view in which a touch is detected may be called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs may be determined based, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.

Hitview determination module172 receives information related to sub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multiple views organized in a hierarchy, hitview determination module172 identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which should handle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowest level view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (i.e., the first sub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potential event). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determination module, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view.

Active eventrecognizer determination module173 determines which view or views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In some embodiments, active eventrecognizer determination module173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active eventrecognizer determination module173 determines that all views that include the physical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, and therefore determines that all actively involved views should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touch sub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with one particular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain as actively involved views.

Event dispatcher module174 dispatches the event information to one or more event recognizers (e.g., event recognizer180). In some embodiments,event dispatcher module174 dispatches the event information to one or more event recognizers in a single application. In other embodiments,event dispatcher module174 dispatches the event information to event recognizers in a plurality ofapplications136, or theoperating system126 and at least one application. In embodiments including active eventrecognizer determination module173,event dispatcher module174 delivers the event information to one or more event recognizers including an event recognizer determined by active eventrecognizer determination module173. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module174 stores in an event queue the event information, which is retrieved by a respectiveevent receiver module182.

In some embodiments,operating system126 includesevent sorter170. Alternatively, application136-1 includesevent sorter170. In yet other embodiments,event sorter170 is a stand-alone module, or a part of another module stored inmemory102, such as contact/motion module130.

In some embodiments, respective applications (e.g.,136-1 and136-2) include a plurality ofevent handlers190 and one or more application views191, each of which includes instructions for handling touch events that occur within a respective view of the application's user interface. Eachapplication view191 of the application136-1 includes one ormore event recognizers180. Typically, arespective application view191 includes a plurality ofevent recognizers180. In some embodiments, theoperating system126 includes one ormore event recognizers180. In some embodiments, theevent sorter170 includes one ormore event recognizers180. In other embodiments, one or more ofevent recognizers180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interface kit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application136-1 inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, arespective event handler190 includes one or more of:data updater176,object updater177,GUI updater178, and/orevent data179 received fromevent sorter170.Event handler190 may utilize or calldata updater176,object updater177 orGUI updater178 to update the applicationinternal state192. Alternatively, one or more of the application views191 include one or morerespective event handlers190. Also, in some embodiments, one or more ofdata updater176,object updater177, andGUI updater178 are included in arespective application view191.

Arespective event recognizer180 receives event information (e.g., event data179) fromevent sorter170, and identifies an event from the event information.Event recognizer180 includesevent receiver182 andevent comparator184. In some embodiments,event recognizer180 also includes at least a subset of:metadata183, and event delivery instructions188 (which may include sub-event delivery instructions).

Event receiver182 receives event information fromevent sorter170. The event information includes information about a sub-event, for example, a touch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the event information also includes additional information, such as location of the sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch the event information may also include speed and direction of the sub-event. In some embodiments, events include rotation of the device from one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event information includes corresponding information about the current orientation (also called device attitude) of the device.

Event comparator184 compares the event information to predefined event or sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines an event or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event or sub-event. In some embodiments,event comparator184 includesevent definitions186.Event definitions186 contain definitions of events (e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event1 (187-1), event2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events in an event187 include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touch movement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, the definition for event1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object. The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first lift-off (touch end) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second lift-off (touch end) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition for event2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, for example, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitive display112, and lift-off of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments, the event also includes information for one or more associatedevent handlers190.

In some embodiments, event definition187 includes a definition of an event for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments,event comparator184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interface object is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an application view in which three user-interface objects are displayed on touch-sensitive display112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitive display112,event comparator184 performs a hit test to determine which of the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch (sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with arespective event handler190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit test to determine whichevent handler190 should be activated. For example,event comparator184 selects an event handler associated with the sub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event187 also includes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event information until after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-events does or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When arespective event recognizer180 determines that the series of sub-events do not match any of the events inevent definitions186, therespective event recognizer180 enters an event impossible, event failed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequent sub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other event recognizers, if any, that remain active continue to track and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, arespective event recognizer180 includesmetadata183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how the event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to actively involved event recognizers. In some embodiments,metadata183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how event recognizers may interact with one another. In some embodiments,metadata183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varying levels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, arespective event recognizer180 activatesevent handler190 associated with an event when one or more particular sub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, arespective event recognizer180 delivers event information associated with the event toevent handler190. Activating anevent handler190 is distinct from sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view. In some embodiments,event recognizer180 throws a flag associated with the recognized event, andevent handler190 associated with the flag catches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments,event delivery instructions188 include sub-event delivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-event without activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event delivery instructions deliver event information to event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved views receive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments,data updater176 creates and updates data used in application136-1. For example,data updater176 updates the telephone number used incontacts module137, or stores a video file used invideo player module145. In some embodiments, objectupdater177 creates and updates objects used in application136-1. For example, objectupdater176 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of a user-interface object.GUI updater178 updates the GUI. For example,GUI updater178 prepares display information and sends it tographics module132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s)190 includes or has access todata updater176,object updater177, andGUI updater178. In some embodiments,data updater176,object updater177, andGUI updater178 are included in a single module of a respective application136-1 orapplication view191. In other embodiments, they are included in two or more software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding event handling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies to other forms of user inputs to operatemultifunction devices100 with input-devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens, e.g., coordinating mouse movement and mouse button presses with or without single or multiple keyboard presses or holds, user movements taps, drags, scrolls, etc., on touch-pads, pen stylus inputs, movement of the device, oral instructions, detected eye movements, biometric inputs, and/or any combination thereof, which may be utilized as inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to be recognized.

Family Account Management

The onlinecontent storage system200 enables users to set up and manage family accounts that include accounts accessible by children of the family. To facilitate the set up process, acomputing device100 executes the familyaccount management module152 which displays a sequence of user interface screens configured to obtain information pertinent to the attributes of the accounts of the family members. The familyaccount management module152 can be locally executed on the computing device as illustrated, or can be itself hosted on thecontent storage system200, e.g., as a browser accessing screens provided by thecontent storage system200.

Referring again toFIG. 1A, there is shown threecomputing devices100A,100B, and100C. In the context of the following description,device100A is assumed to be used by an adult family member identified as the “family organizer,”device100B is assumed to be used by a child family member, anddevice100C is assumed to be used by another adult family member.

Referring generally toFIG. 2 there is shown an overall execution flow provided by the familyaccount management module152, according to one embodiment. Other embodiments may perform the operations in the execution flow in other sequences. Examples of various user interfaces that can be displayed by thecomputing device100 in conjunction with the steps of the method flow are illustrated inFIGS. 3.1 to 3.22, as indicated inFIG. 2. These user interfaces are referred herein as “screens,” which is understood to include windows, banners, pages, dialogs, messages and other graphical presentations of information. In addition, throughout reference is made to actions and operations initiated in response to various user interface elements including links and controls; other types of user interface elements such as buttons, check boxes, menus, dials, and the like may be used in place of the described links and controls to achieve the described functionality. Further, transmissions of information between thecomputing devices100 and the content storage system200 (or component thereof) may be characterized equivalently as messages, indications, notifications, packets, or other carriers of data between computing systems, whether or not explicitly described as such below. It is understood that such transmissions occur via thenetwork220 using communications protocols such as previously identified. It is further understood that the described processes require the use of computer systems, and cannot be performed in whole or in part by mental steps by a human being.

Generally,FIGS. 3.1 to 3.22 illustrate the user interface of the familyaccount management module152 as it would be displayed on a display device of thecomputing device100. For ease of understanding, the steps inFIG. 2 are numbered in correspondence with the figure numbers, thus when reference is made to a step3.xinFIG. 2 the correspondingFIG. 3.xshould be consulted as well. For example, when referring to step3.1 inFIG. 2, referenceFIG. 3.1 should be consulted as an illustration.

The method flow begins with a family sharing setup prompt3.1, such as illustrated inscreen301 shown inFIG. 3.1, which notifies the user of the overall purpose of the family sharing setup to share media (e.g., photos and videos), electronic books, music, and applications with other family members. The user can continue via selection of alink303, or can exit by selection of thenavigation button300. Generally, selection ofnavigation button300 at any time exits the family sharing setup process, (or any other process currently being handled) and returns thecomputing device100A to a prior application state or home page.

Following selection oflink303, thefamily sharing module152 prompts3.2 the user to select a specific account to use for sharing with other family members (“family account”). The user setting up the family sharing accounts is termed the “family organizer,” as shown in screen305 inFIG. 3.2. Thefamily sharing module152 selects by default as the family account the account that the user is currently signed in with thecontent storage system200. To identify the currently signed in account, thefamily sharing module152 may, for example, send a query from thecomputing device100A to themedia server202 with the user's email address (which is stored in thecomputing device100A) to obtain the user'saccount ID302. The user can select the default account atlink304 or select another one of the user's accounts atlink306. If the user selects306 another account, thefamily sharing module152 presents a screen that accepts a user ID and password for a different one of the user's accounts, such as screen302ainFIG. 3.2a; this user ID and password is provided to themedia server202 which verifies the user's credentials and displays the user ID and name on screen305 shown inFIG. 3.2 to indicate the family organizer for the account. The account selection is transmitted to thecontent storage system200.

Following selection3.2 of an account for use as the family account, thefamily sharing module152 prompts3.3 the family organizer to select which account is to be used for purchases by other family members (“purchase account”), with a selection of links for amusic account308, ane-books account310, anapps account312, or anotheraccount314, such as illustrated onscreen307 inFIG. 3.3. The availability of these accounts can be determined by thefamily sharing module152 by querying theuser account server208 to determine which accounts are associated with the user's account ID, which information is then returned and associated with the displayed link. The selection of purchase account enables the family members having access to the family account with an account to which they may use for payment of content items available from the media server, e-books server, or apps server. In one embodiment, one of the identified music, e-books, or apps accounts is preselected as a default account.

Each of the user'smusic account308, ane-books account310, anapps account312, or anotheraccount314 is associated with a credit card, debit card or other payment mechanism. Accordingly, following selection3.3 of one of the user's accounts as a purchase account, thefamily sharing module152 retrieves from theuser account208 the payment information, e.g., credit card number, associated with the selected account, and displays at least a portion (e.g., the full number or the last 4 digits) of thecredit card number316 to user, along with auxiliary information such as expiration date, such as illustrated onscreen309 inFIG. 3.4. The user can select link318 to confirm3.4 the use of the identified card, orselect link320 to input3.4ainformation for another payment mechanism, e.g., a different credit card number, expiration date, and verification code, as illustrated onscreen311 inFIG. 3.4a. (In one optional embodiment, following selection oflink318 thefamily sharing module152 displays an input field to receive the credit card verification code for the selected credit card number, thereby further ensuring that the user is authorized to use the credit card number for the purchase account.) Thefamily sharing module152 transmits the entered information to thepurchase server210 for authentication; once authenticated the updated card information is stored in account with the user's account as the credit card for use with the purchase account.

Following selection of a purchase account (or new payment information), thefamily sharing module152 provides3.5 afamily screen321, such as illustrated inFIG. 3.5. Thefamily screen321 includes thename322 of the family organizer, a portion of thecredit card number324 to be used for shared purchases, and links for initiating operations for adding afamily member326 to the family account, and creating a new account for achild family member328. Thefamily screen321 serves as a base screen to which each member of the family account is directed when accessing thefamily sharing module152.

Following selection of thelink328 for creating a new account for a child family member, the family organizer is prompted3.6 with a notification explaining that a child account must be linked to an account of an adult family member, such as onscreen323 inFIG. 3.6. This feature further emphasizes that a child generally is not allowed to create an account by themselves on the content sharing system, and thus the child's account can only exist by virtue of being linked to the account of an adult family member. This aids in ensuring that appropriate legal, regulatory and privacy requirements pertaining to online services for children are satisfied. Following selection of a continuelink330, thefamily sharing module152 verifies3.7 that the present user is the an adult family member with authority to create the child account by prompting the user to enter the creditcard verification code332 associated with credit card for the purchase account, such as illustrated byscreen325 inFIG. 3.7. The operative assumption here is that only an adult family member would have this information, not a child of the family. After thisverification code332 in entered and the family organizer selects the continuelink334, thefamily sharing module152 transmits the code to thepurchase server210, which authenticates the code against stored information by theuser account server208. If the code is verified, then thefamily sharing module152 presents3.8 a child information screen for receiving information for the child family member, such asscreen327 illustrated inFIG. 3.8. The use of the creditcard verification code332 as a verification mechanism is a very efficient and reliable way of ensuring that an adult family member is actually creating the child account, and beneficially reduces the amount of time and data entry steps (and thereby battery usage) on thecomputing device100 to create the child account.

In thechild information screen327, the family organizer (or other adult family member) inputs the child's first and last names (336,338), and date ofbirth340. The family organizer can optionally selectlink334 to set customized purchase and access restrictions for child, as further described below. Selection oflink342 transmits this information to thecontent storage system200, which provides it to the user accountsserver208. Theaccounts server208 creates a new account for the child, and links the child account to the shared family account, and returns an indication of a successful account creation to thefamily sharing module152. To create an account for the child, theaccounts server208 creates a new account ID for the child and uses that account ID as an email address associated with thecontent storage system200.

During (via link342) or after the creation of the child account, the family organizer can set3.9 specific purchase and access restrictions for a child, such as illustrated inscreen329 inFIG. 3.9. By default, for a new child family member purchase and access restrictions are enabled viacontrol360. The family organizer can deselectcontrol360 to turn off purchase and access restrictions. Further, the family organizer can select viacontrols361 individuals ones of the services (music/media, electronic books, applications) to allow or prohibit access by the child member. In addition, the family organizer can set content ratings, by selecting a rating country362 (e.g., the USA, UK, Japan, China, etc.) from a plurality of countries; each country is associated with a set of content ratings for movies and games. Responsive to the selected rating country, the appropriate set ofavailable movie364 andgame ratings366 is retrieved from thecontent storage system200 and at least a portion thereof is displayed in corresponding fields, from which the family organizer can select to apply. These ratings are used to restrict the media that the child can access from the various content servers.

Further, the family organizer can select acontrol370 to automatically update the restrictions as the child ages. Different templates of content access and purchase restrictions for media, movie ratings, and game ratings for different age ranges are stored by theuser account server208, for example a template for children ages 5-10, a template for children in the U.S. ages 11-13, a template for children ages 14-17, and template for users overage 18. Different sets of content access and purchase restriction templates are stored for different countries (e.g., US, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, China) to reflect different cultural standards and rating systems. Theuser account server208 automatically updates the particular restrictions applied to child member's account based on the age of the child. For example, each time a child member logs into thecontent storage system200, theuser account server218 can determine the current age of the child from the birth date information previously entered and the current date. If the child's age in years has changed, theserver218 looks up the appropriate content restriction template for the current age and child's country and updates the restrictions accordingly.

Referring again toFIG. 2, responsive to the indication of the successful account creation for the child account, thefamily sharing module152 provides3.10 an indication that the account has created, and displays the child's name, and account ID, such as onscreen331 illustrated inFIG. 3.10. Thescreen331 further includes alink344 to a screen in which the child can enter a password for their new account,such screen333 as illustrated inFIG. 3.11. The operative assumption here is that the child is present while the family organizer is creating the child's account, and at this step the family organizer can provide the family organizer'scomputing device100A to the child for inputting the password.

As illustrated inFIG. 3.11,screen333 is configured to receive a password346 (and a confirmation re-entry) from the child, along with a selection of asecurity question348 and ananswer350. Thefamily sharing module152 transmits the password, security question and answer to the user accountsserver208, which stores the information securely (e.g., stores an encrypted or hashed version thereof). After entering this information, the child would return thecomputing device100A back to the family organizer.

Following step3.11, thefamily sharing module152 confirms3.12 that the family organizer is allowing the child family member to purchase content from the various available content sources using the purchase account, for example using thescreen335 illustrated inFIG. 3.12. In this example, the family organizer is presented with a set ofcontrols356 to select which content sources, such as a music store (e.g., media server302), e-book store (e.g., electronic book server216), or app store (e.g., apps server204) are available to the child from which to make purchases, using the previously designated purchase account. In one embodiment, all of the available content sources as enabled for purchases by default. The family organizer can deselect individual content sources as desired. Additional confirmations, such as agreement to legal terms and conditions, may be included in confirmation step3.12.

Another feature of the confirmation step3.12, as illustrated inFIG. 3.12, is the option to enable a real-time purchase approval process for purchases made by a child family member, via Ask to Buylink352. Generally, when the real-time purchase approval feature process is enabled, then each time the child family member is about to make a purchase of content to be charged to the purchase account, a notification is sent tocomputing device100 of each adult family member (or alternatively to a designated adult, such as the family organizer) identifying the content being purchased and the price, so that the family organizer can approve the purchase. The family member can approve the purchase via an interface on theircomputing device100, or optionally in one embodiment via thecomputing device100B of the child family member making the purchase. This option can be enabled by default, and is further described below.

Upon selection of the continuelink354, the designated selections are transmitted to thecontent storage system200, which passes the selections to theaccount server208 to update the account information for the family sharing account and the child member account.

Thefamily sharing module152 displays3.13 an updatedfamily screen321, such as illustrated inFIG. 3.13, where the name of the child family member is now shown, along with theindicia356 that the child has a child account.

From thefamily screen321, the family organizer may also selectlink326 to initiate operations for adding a family member to the family account, where the family member already has an account ID with thecontent storage system200. Following selection oflink326, thefamily sharing module152 displays3.14 a screen configured to receive the name or email address infield358 of the family member to be added to the family account, such asscreen337 shown inFIG. 3.14. The family organizer would enter the name oremail address358 and select the continuelink360. In response, thefamily sharing module152 passes the name or email address to thecontacts module137 which searches the family organizer's contact directory on thecomputing device100A for a match. One (or more) matching names or email address from the family member's contact directory are then presented to the family organizer (not shown) who then selects the appropriate name. Thefamily sharing module152 transmits the selected name and/or email address to thecontent storage system200, which provides the name and/or email address to theuser account server208. Theaccount server208 verifies that there is an account ID on thecontent storage system200 that is associated with the name and/or email address.

If the verification by theaccount server208 is successful, thefamily sharing module152 is notified and it updates3.15 the display of the name infield358 onscreen337 in visually distinguished manner (e.g., change of color, font), as illustrated inFIG. 3.15. Also, thefamily sharing module152 displays two new links, including alink360 to have the identified family member enter their password, and alink362 to send an email invitation to the identified family member at their email address. These two links present options by which the identified family member can accept being included in the family sharing account.

More specifically, thelink360 is beneficially selected by the family organizer when the identified family member is present in the same location as the family organizer, and as before, allows the family organizer to provide thecomputing device100A to the family member to enter their password directly, as illustrated for example byscreen339 inFIG. 3.16. Here, responsive to the family member entering their password, thefamily sharing module152 transmits the password and email address (preferably in a secure transmission) thesystem200, which passes the information to theuser account server208 to authenticate the family member. Following an indication from theserver208 that the family member has been authenticated, thefamily sharing module152 updates3.17 thefamily screen321, to show thename362 of the newly included family member, for example as shown inFIG. 3.17.

As part of the authentication check by theuser account server208, theserver208 determines from the user's account whether the invited family is a teenager, e.g., has an age in a predetermined age range, such as ages 13-18 (which range can be varied on a country by country basis by a system administrator). If the invited family member is in the teenage age range, then thefamily sharing module152 displays3.12 theconfirmation screen335, such as illustrated inFIG. 3.12, to the family organizer to confirm that the invited family member is allowed to purchase content, and to enable the family organizer to Ask to Buy link352 to require real-time purchase approval for that family member's purchases.

Referring back to step3.15 andFIG. 3.15, if the family organizer selectedlink362, then thefamily sharing module152 transmits an email to the email address of the identified family member with an invitation to have that person join the family account, and then would also return tofamily screen321, as inscreen321 shown inFIG. 3.17, and optionally displays an indicia that the member has been sent an invitation. This path would be followed, for example, if the family member to be added to the family was not available to input their password on thecomputing device100A of family organizer at step3.16, described above. Accordingly, at thecomputing device100C of the invited family member, an invitation notice is displayed3.18, such asscreen341 illustrated inFIG. 3.18. Thescreen341 lists364 the family members associated with the family account, and includes links for the user to each accept366 or ignore368 the invitation. Following selection of acceptlink366, thefamily sharing module152 on thecomputing device100C displays an indication to family member of the various content sources and service being shared as part of the family account, for example as illustrated onscreen343 inFIG. 3.19. In one embodiment, the invited member by default has access to all of the content sources and services that are associated with the family account; the invited family member can then select which sources and services they do not want access to, by deselectingappropriate controls372.

As illustrated inFIG. 3.19, in one embodiment an invited family member is automatically associated with an entire platform of services and content sources that are shared among members of the family account. These include access to the various sources of content and media, such as files (e.g., files, photos, documents) managed by thecontent storage server201, as well as media (e.g., music, movies, television programs) available via themedia server202, computer applications via theapp server204, electronic books via the e-book server. Following selection of acceptlink374, thefamily sharing module152 transmits the selected content to theuser account server208, which updates the account information for the family account. Thefamily sharing module152 on the invited family member'scomputing device100C then displays3.22 an updatedfamily screen321 as illustrated inFIG. 3.22.

Referring toFIG. 2 again, following the invited family member's acceptance of the invitation, theuser account server208 notifies thefamily sharing module152 on the family organizer'scomputing device100A that the invitation has been accepted. Thefamily sharing module152 displays3.20 a notification screen, such as illustrated inFIG. 3.20. Following selecting of the continue link, thefamily sharing module152 displays3.21 aconfirmation screen375, such as illustrated inFIG. 3.21, indicating which of the various content sources and services the invited family member has elected to share. In the example ofFIG. 3.21 the invited family member is has access to the shared content sources for media, books, and applications (e.g.,media server202,apps server204, and e-books server206), as well as a shared family calendar, family group messaging, and device location service, as further described below.

When a family member joins a family account, the family member is automatically given access to a shared calendar associated with the family account. More specifically, upon creation of a family account, an online calendar of the family in instantiated and associated with the family account, and with each user account ID associated therewith. Access privileges are predefined by age group. For example, access privileges for each adult family member include the ability to create, edit, and delete calendar entries, as well as invite others, including family members and non-family members to calendared events. Child family members have restricted access privileges, so that they can see but not edit or delete calendar entries created by other family members. Access privileges for teen family members can be to create personal calendar entries only, and see but not edit calendar entries for other family members. The family organizer can modify the access privileges for teen and child family members. Management of these access privileges, as well as updating and distribution of calendar events between family members is handled by thefamily calendar server314. More specifically, when a user accesses thecalendar module148 on theirrespective computing device100, themodule148 passes the user's credentials (e.g., user account ID, password) to thefamily calendar server216; theserver216 uses the account ID to identify the family calendar associated with the user account ID. Upon identification of the appropriate family calendar, thecalendar server216 transmits to thecalendar module148 current calendar information and access restrictions (if any), which calendar can then be displayed to the user on the user'scomputing device100.

Another service to which family members are automatically given access to upon being added to a family account is a group messaging service, by which family members can readily use theinstant messaging module141 to communicate with each other. More specifically, in one embodiment, thegroup messaging server216 maintains for each family account a list of family members. When a family organizer adds a new family member to the family account, thefamily sharing module152 notifies thegroup messaging server216 of the account ID and user name of the added member, and thegroup messaging server216 updates the list of family members for the family account. When the newly added family member accesses theinstant messaging module141 on theircomputing device100C, the module obtains from thegroup messaging server216 the current list of family members for the family account. These family members are then added by theinstant messaging module141 to the family member's list of preselected users (e.g. “favorites” or “buddies” or “friends”) for messaging, which, for example, can place that the names of these family members at the top of the list for ease of access by the family member. This automatic configuration of theinstant messaging module141 on a user'scomputing device100 saves the family member time by eliminating the need to manually configure theinstant messaging module141 to include each family member, and thereby has the beneficial side effect of saving battery life on thedevice100.

Another service to which family members are automatically given access upon being added to a family account is a device location service, provided by thedevice location server218. As noted above, acomputing device100 preferably includes aGPS module135 that is enabled to determine the geographic location of thedevice100. Referring toFIG. 4.1 a family member can access a find family members screen400, which displays alist401 of the family members associated with the family account. The family member can then select one or more family members for locating their respective device. In one embodiment, following selection of find family members link404, thecomputing device100 transmits the account IDs for the selected family members to thedevice location server218. Thedevice location server218 queries theuser account server208 to confirm that the requesting user is a member of a family account including the other account IDs; this ensures that only a family member can locate other family members, thereby preserving the privacy of the family members. Following verification that the requesting user is a member of a family account including the other account IDs as family members, thedevice location server218 returns amap403, such as illustrated inFIG. 4.2 with thelocations405 of each of the other family members shown thereon. Optionally, thedevice location server218 can send an instruction to eachcomputing device100 of the respective family members to play a sound or a tone (e.g., a ping or a ringtone) to alert the user that the device has been located. As illustrated inFIG. 4.1, each adult family member has alink406 to prevent his or hercomputing device100 from being located in this manner. When that option is selected, thefamily sharing module152 transmits a message to thedevice location server218, which sets a restriction on the account ID for that family member so that future location requests for that account ID are ignored, until such time as the family member elects to remove the restriction. After selection of thelink406, thefamily sharing module152 updates the link to indicate an option to unhide the user's device.

Referring toFIG. 5, there is illustrated one embodiment of ascreen500 configured to enable the family organizer to selectively control the application of a real-time purchase approval process for each individual family member. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 5, the feature is designated as “Ask to Buy” as shown. Each family member associated with the family account is listed along with acontrol502. In the illustrated embodiment, by default the real time purchase approval process is enabled for the accounts of child family members, and disabled for the accounts of adult family members. Generally, the real-time purchase approval process causes a real time notification to be sent to thecomputing devices100 of one or more adult family members when a child family members is about to make purchase of digital content from themedia server202,apps server204, ore-book server206. The notification provides the adult family member with information identifying the digital content being purchased, and enables that adult family member to approve or decline the purchase (or defer the decision until a later time). This process is synchronous in that the purchase operations started on thecomputing device100B of the child family member are dependent for completion on the approval of the adult family member via that member'scomputing device100C.

Referring toFIGS. 6A-B, there is shown a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for implementing the real-time purchase approval process, in the case of a child family member making a purchase of digital content from the one of thecontent servers202,204,206 (though the process is applicable as well to any other family member for whom a real time purchase approval is required, such as a teenager). As an initial state, a child family member has logged600 into thecontent storage system200 from theircomputing device100B, and has been authenticated602 by theuser account server208. The child family member can then search and browse604 for a digital content item (e.g., music, movie, television program, electronic book, computer program, game, etc.) to purchase from one of the content sources, such as themedia server202,app server204, ore-book server206. Upon identifying a particular content item of interest, the child family member can make a selection to purchase content item viapurchase link702, as illustrated for example onscreen701 inFIG. 7.1. From the child family member'scomputing device100B apurchase request606 is transmitted to thesystem200, for example to thepurchase server210.

Thesystem200prompts608 the child family member to authenticate themselves again using either their account ID or a fingerprint if thecomputing device100 supports a fingerprint scanner, or other identification information. The child family member provides anauthentication response610. Thesystem200 receives and verifies612 the authentication response using theuser account server208.

Thesystem200 determines614 whether a family account is associated with the account ID of the child family member, and further determines616 whether there a real-time purchase approval process is enabled (as inFIG. 5) for that child family member in the identified family account. The real time purchase approval requirement may be stored as a metadata in the account information for the family account or equivalently in the account information for the user. If there is no family account, or if the real-time purchase approval process is not enabled, then the child family member's purchase is processed632 (FIG. 6B) for payment.

If the real-time purchase approval process is enabled, then thesystem200 transmits618 a notification to the child family member'scomputing device100B indicating the requirement for the purchase approval. The child family member'scomputing device100B displays619 a screen or window indicating that an adult family member is required to approve the purchase of the requested item and prompting the child family member to indicate via alink704 whether to request such approval, for example from the family organizer or other designated adult family member or decline. Anexample screen703 with anoverlay708 is illustrated inFIG. 7.2. The child family member can select the Nolink704, which indicating is then transmitted to the system,200 in which case the purchase process is terminated638 (FIG. 6B) and the child family member is returned, for example, to a home screen of the content server the child family member was using to make a purchase. Following selection of Yes link706, the user'scomputing device100B transmits to thesystem200 an indication that the child family member agrees to have an adult family member approve the purchase. Thecomputing device100 returns to the previous screen, which is updated620 to indicate that that a request for permission has been sent, and is awaiting approval by another family member, for example as illustrated byindication710 on thescreen705 inFIG. 7.3.

In one embodiment, when a child family member requests to purchase606, thesystem200 determines via thecontent storage server201 if the item has already been downloaded by another family member, and included in the family account. If so, then the child family member is notified that the content is already available in the family account, for example as illustrated inFIG. 7.3a; the child family member is given alink711 by which they can immediately access (e.g., play back) the content item.

Referring toFIG. 6B, thesystem200 determines622 from the family account the account IDs and/or email address of all other family members (e.g., the family organizer and other adult family members) who can approve the purchase. Thesystem200 transmits624 a message to thecomputing devices100 of each of these other family members indicating that approval for a purchase is required.

Thefamily sharing module152 on each adult family member'scomputing device100 receives this message and displays626 a screen or a banner indicating that the adult family member's approval is required, such asscreen707 illustrated inFIG. 7.4. The screen or banner includes links to different options, including alink712 to review the request immediately, and alink714 to defer the review to a later time. Following selection oflink714, thefamily sharing module152 closes the screen or banner, sets a timer with a selected amount of time (e.g., 30 minutes) and upon expiration of the timer, displays626 thescreen707 again (alternative, this timer can be managed by thesystem200.) Further, if the request atstep626 is not acted upon by the adult family member in 30 minutes, then the purchase process is terminated; this may be treated by thesystem200 as equivalent to the adult family member declining720 (see below) to review the request. Alternatively, the adult family member can select the amount of time to defer the request.

Following selection oflink712, in one embodiment, thesystem200 transmits to the adult family member'scomputing device100 the details of the content item that is to purchased, which information is displayed630 by the computing device, so that the adult family member has sufficient information about the content item, for example as illustrated byscreen709 inFIG. 7.5. Thescreen709 includes links for the adult family member to either approve718 or decline720 the purchase request. If the adult family member selects thedecline link720, a decline message is sent from the adult family member'scomputing device100 to thesystem200, which in turn terminates638 the purchase process; a message can be displayed on thecomputing device100B of the child family member indicating that the purchase has not been approved, for example as illustrated inFIG. 7.6.

Following selection of approvelink718, the adult family member'scomputing device100 transmits an approval message back to thesystem200. In one optional embodiment, following selection ofapproval link718, the child family member'scomputing device100 display a screen with an input field to receive the credit card authorization code for the purchase account to validate that the user is in fact the adult family member; alternatively, the input may be the user's account password, or other credentials not know to the child family member. The system receives the approval message (and optional authorization information), and using thepurchase server210, proceeds to process632 the transaction, including authorization of payment using the purchase account associated with the family account. Upon authorization of payment, the content item is downloaded634 by thedownload server212 to the user'scomputing device100B. Optionally, the user'scomputing device100B receives a message indicating the purchase has been approved, such as illustrated inFIG. 7.7. The content is also shared636 with other family members, as determined by the account settings in the family account.

In another embodiment, following selection of Yes link706, thesystem200 transmits to the user's computing device100 a message indicating that the child family member can request permission for the purchase in person, for example by selectinglink722 inbanner724 inFIG. 7.8. This beneficially enables the user, such as a child family member, to immediately obtain approval from an available, adult family member who may be nearby, rather than waiting. In this embodiment, following selection oflink722, thesystem200 viacomputing device100 provides aselection link726 for each family member who can approve the purchase, for example as illustrated onscreen713 inFIG. 7.9. Following selection of thelink726 for one of the family members, the user'scomputing device100 prompts for an authorization input, such as the password of the identified family member, for example as illustrated byscreen715 inFIG. 7.10; in another embodiment the authorization input is the credit card verification code for the purchase account. The child family member would then hand his or hercomputing device100 to the adult family member, who would then input the authorization input, such as their password or credit card verification code. Following input of the authorization input, thefamily sharing module152 transmits the password to thesystem200, which passes the information to theuser account server208 to authenticate the adult family member. Following an indication from theserver208 that the adult family member has been authenticated, thepurchase server210 proceeds to process the transaction, including authorization of payment using the purchase account associated with the family account. Upon authorization of payment, the content item is downloaded by thedownload server212 to the user's computing device. If the authorization input is not authenticated, then the purchase is terminated, and the content is not downloaded to the child family member'scomputing device100B.

The disclosure herein has been described in particular detail with respect to one possible embodiment. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other embodiments may be practiced. First, the particular naming of the components and variables, capitalization of terms, the attributes, data structures, or any other programming or structural aspect is not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that implement the invention or its features may have different names, formats, or protocols. Also, the particular division of functionality between the various system components described herein is merely exemplary, and not mandatory; functions performed by a single system component may instead be performed by multiple components, and functions performed by multiple components may instead performed by a single component.

Some portions of above description present features in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. These operations, while described functionally or logically, are understood to be implemented by computer programs. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules or by functional names, without loss of generality.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Certain aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein include process steps and instructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. It should be noted that the process steps and instructions could be embodied in software, firmware or hardware, and when embodied in software, could be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by real time network operating systems.

The algorithms and operations presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will be apparent to those of skill in the art, along with equivalent variations. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It is appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein, and any references to specific languages are provided for invention of enablement and best mode of the present invention.

The embodiments disclosed herein are well suited to a wide variety of computer network systems over numerous topologies. Within this field, the configuration and management of large networks includes storage devices and computers that are communicatively coupled to dissimilar computers and storage devices over a network, such as the Internet.

Finally, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure herein is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

Claims (15)

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a display and one or more input devices:

displaying, on the display, an input field for receiving an identifier of a first family member to be added to a family account at an online content storage system, wherein the family account is shared between family members;

responsive to receiving the identifier of the first family member entered into the input field, via the one or more input devices, to be added to the family account, transmitting the identifier to the online content storage system;

receiving from the online content storage system a confirmation that the first family member has a previously established individual account with a content server associated with the online content storage system, wherein the previously established individual account for the first family member has access to content associated with the previously established individual account, the content associated with the previously established individual account including a first subset of content and a second subset of content that is different from the first subset of content;

responsive to the confirmation, displaying, on the display, a user interface element for receiving a password of the first family member for the previously established individual account;

receiving, at the electronic via the one or more input devices, a password of the first family member for the previously established individual account entered into the user interface element for receiving the password of the first family member, and transmitting the password to the online content storage system for verification;

responsive to receiving from the online content storage system an indication that the password of the first family member has been verified and the first family member has been added to the family account, displaying, on the display, a list of family members having access to the family account, the list of family members including the first family member, wherein adding the first family member to the family account includes sharing access to the first subset of content with other members of the family account without sharing access to the second subset of content with other members of the family account;

while displaying the list of family members having access to the family account, receiving, via the one or more input devices, a sequence of one or more inputs corresponding to a request to invite a second family member to join the family account, including an input selecting a user interface element to cause an electronic message to be sent to an electronic messaging address of the second family member; and

responsive to receiving the sequence of one or more inputs:

transmitting to the online content storage system an indication to send the electronic message to the electronic messaging address of the second family member to invite the second family member to join the family account; and

displaying, on the display, the list of family members having access to the family account, the list of family members including the second family member, and an indication that the online content storage system is awaiting confirmation from the second family member to join the family account.

2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving an indication that a respective family member is within a predetermined age range:

displaying, on the display, a first user interface element configured to receive a confirmation that the respective family member is authorized to purchase online content from an online content source; and

displaying, on the display, a second user interface element configured to receive a confirmation that at least one adult family member is to receive a message from the online content storage system prior to each purchase by the respective family member identifying the content to be purchased by the respective family member and indicating that a family organizer has an option to approve the purchase.

3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a shared family calendar service associated with the family account.

4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a group messaging service associated with the family account.

5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a device location service associated with the family account.

6. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device with a display and one or more input devices, cause the electronic device to perform:

displaying, on the display, an input field for receiving an identifier of a first family member to be added to a family account at an online content storage system, wherein the family account is shared between family members;

responsive to receiving the identifier of the first family member entered into the input field, via the one or more input devices, to be added to the family account, transmitting the identifier to the online content storage system;

receiving from the online content storage system a confirmation that the first family member has a previously established individual account with a content server associated with the online content storage system, wherein the previously established individual account for the first family member has access to content associated with the previously established individual account, the content associated with the previously established individual account including a first subset of content and a second subset of content that is different from the first subset of content;

responsive to the confirmation, displaying, on the display, a user interface element for receiving a password of the first family member for the previously established individual account;

receiving, at the electronic via the one or more input devices, a password of the first family member for the previously established individual account entered into the user interface element for receiving the password of the first family member, and transmitting the password to the online content storage system for verification;

responsive to receiving from the online content storage system an indication that the password of the first family member has been verified and the first family member has been added to the family account, displaying, on the display, a list of family members having access to the family account, the list of family members including the first family member, wherein adding the first family member to the family account includes sharing access to the first subset of content with other members of the family account without sharing access to the second subset of content with other members of the family account;

while displaying the list of family members having access to the family account, receiving, via the one or more input devices, a sequence of one or more inputs corresponding to a request to invite a second family member to join the family account, including an input selecting a user interface element to cause an electronic message to be sent to an electronic messaging address of the second family member; and

responsive to receiving the sequence of one or more inputs:

transmitting to the online content storage system an indication to send the electronic message to the electronic messaging address of the second family member to invite the second family member to join the family account; and

displaying, on the display, the list of family members having access to the family account, the list of family members including the second family member, and an indication that the online content storage system is awaiting confirmation from the second family member to join the family account.

7. An electronic device comprising:

memory;

a display;

one or more input devices;

one or more processors; and

one or more programs stored in the memory for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by the electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform:

displaying, on the display, an input field for receiving an identifier of a first family member to be added to a family account at an online content storage system, wherein the family account is shared between family members;

responsive to receiving the identifier of the first family member entered into the input field, via the one or more input devices, to be added to the family account, transmitting the identifier to the online content storage system;

receiving from the online content storage system a confirmation that the first family member has a previously established individual account with a content server associated with the online content storage system, wherein the previously established individual account for the first family member has access to content associated with the previously established individual account, the content associated with the previously established individual account including a first subset of content and a second subset of content that is different from the first subset of content;

responsive to the confirmation, displaying, on the display, a user interface element for receiving a password of the first family member for the previously established individual account;

receiving, at the electronic via the one or more input devices, a password of the first family member for the previously established individual account entered into the user interface element for receiving the password of the first family member, and transmitting the password to the online content storage system for verification;

responsive to receiving from the online content storage system an indication that the password of the first family member has been verified and the first family member has been added to the family account, displaying, on the display, a list of family members having access to the family account, the list of family members including the first family member, wherein adding the first family member to the family account includes sharing access to the first subset of content with other members of the family account without sharing access to the second subset of content with other members of the family account;

while displaying the list of family members having access to the family account, receiving, via the one or more input devices, a sequence of one or more inputs corresponding to a request to invite a second family member to join the family account, including an input selecting a user interface element to cause an electronic message to be sent to an electronic messaging address of the second family member; and

responsive to receiving the sequence of one or more inputs:

transmitting to the online content storage system an indication to send the electronic message to the electronic messaging address of the second family member to invite the second family member to join the family account; and

displaying, on the display, the list of family members having access to the family account, the list of family members including the second family member, and an indication that the online content storage system is awaiting confirmation from the second family member to join the family account.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 6, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

responsive to receiving an indication that a respective family member is within a predetermined age range:

displaying, on the display, a first user interface element configured to receive a confirmation that the respective family member is authorized to purchase online content from an online content source; and

displaying, on the display, a second user interface element configured to receive a confirmation that at least one adult family member is to receive a message from the online content storage system prior to each purchase by the respective family member identifying the content to be purchased by the respective family member and indicating that a family organizer has an option to approve the purchase.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 6, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a shared family calendar service associated with the family account.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 6, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a group messaging service associated with the family account.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 6, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a device location service associated with the family account.

12. The electronic device ofclaim 7, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

responsive to receiving an indication that a respective family member is within a predetermined age range:

displaying, on the display, a first user interface element configured to receive a confirmation that the respective family member is authorized to purchase online content from an online content source; and

displaying, on the display, a second user interface element configured to receive a confirmation that at least one adult family member is to receive a message from the online content storage system prior to each purchase by the respective family member identifying the content to be purchased by the respective family member and indicating that a family organizer has an option to approve the purchase.

13. The electronic device ofclaim 7, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a shared family calendar service associated with the family account.

14. The electronic device ofclaim 7, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a group messaging service associated with the family account.

15. The electronic device ofclaim 7, the instructions causing the electronic device to further perform:

displaying, on the display, an indication that the first family member is automatically associated with a device location service associated with the family account.

Images